Mandy Reid
CI 4000
Dr. Pam Schram
February 8, 2001
Classroom Management
Classroom management is an essential element in
creating a learning environment that is beneficial to all students.
I am observing the fourth/fifth combination grade teacher, Ms. McKinney,
at Beech Mountain Elementary School. My grade level group members
are from Mabel Elementary and Bethel Elementary. They primarily focused
on the morning routines of the classrooms. Although this was not
my focus, it was a benefit for me to discuss their findings. The
routines I focused on included how the students turned in their homework
assignments and how the teacher lined them up to go to another classroom,
cafeteria, or to PE.
The first routine I selected was how Ms. McKinney
lined up the students to go down the hall to and from places. During
the interview, Ms. McKinney expressed that she simply asked the students
to line up and get ready to go to the next place on their agenda.
All of her classes have been able to do this, therefore, she has never
had a need to change it. Although sometimes, she will be creative
and call the kids to come get in line if they are wearing a certain color,
or blue jeans, or have brown hair, etc. All in all, she has had no
trouble with this method, and the students seem to like it. Ms. McKinney
believes that her routine runs smoothly because she has a small number
of students in her classroom. They all work collaboratively and tend
to help each other out. I would use this routine in my classroom,
because it gives the students a little freedom and a little choice, as
far as who they want to stand in front of or behind in the line.
They also will be held accountable for their actions, as are the students
in Ms. McKinney’s class. As long as my students do not take advantage
of this freedom, I feel that it is a great way to give responsibility to
students.
The second routine that caught my eye was how the
students turn in their homework assignments. I couldn’t believe the
system she is using and I felt as though there could be a better way.
It was very wrong for me to make these decisions and judgments before I
had gone into in-depth study. There is a box for all homework assignments
on the edge of the teacher’s desk in the back of the room. She announces
that it is time to turn in homework for a certain subject area and all
the students get up at once and turn in their work. The students
do this for every subject area. What caos! (I thought).
This is the very reason I selected this particular classroom management
routine. I wanted to know why Ms. McKinney is handling it this way.
In the interview with Ms. McKinney she voiced
her concerns of the students and her opinions as well. She began
by describing the way she used to have her students to hand in their homework.
She used to have the kids grade one anothers’ papers with her calling out
the answers. But her concerns with this group are many. She
said that they are exceptional, in that, they (each and every one of them)
need special attention. They are all craving it desperately.
They aren’t mature enough to handle keeping scores private (to themselves).
Nor are they able to keep quiet. Ms. McKinney said they would spend
up to 45 minutes grading papers and only 15 minutes of actual instruction
time. She caught this early into the year and has several things
since.
Next, she decided to have them pass the homework
papers back to the last person in each row and have that person put it
in the box. Once again, she discovered a problem. The children
were not able to do this in an orderly manner, and they wanted to inform
the class of who had not turned in their homework.
So, Ms. McKinney resorted to the system she
is currently using. She said that for her students it creates less
commotion, less anxiety, less worry about others, and makes them responsible
for only themselves and their work. Of course, this increases her
work because she then has to sort the homework into piles by grade and
subject. But, her main point was that she is doing this for the kids,
not herself. This is what works best for them and that is what should
be done.
I would use this routine in my classroom for
many reasons. First, I would use it when no matter the students’
maturity/dependence/independence level because they need to be responsible
for their own work. This allows them the opportunity to make sure
that their homework was placed where it was supposed to be. It also
makes privacy of students’ work and lack of work possible. If I did
use this routine, I would only modify it slightly for a fourth/fifth grade
combination class. The modification is that there would be two boxes
instead of one. I would have one box for the fourth graders and one
box for the fifth graders providing there is room for this. I tend
to carry the same philosophy as Ms. McKinney. I want to do all I
can to help my students even if it means having to do more work myself.
I would integrate this into my classroom management system because I believe
it teaches the students a certain aspect of responsibility.
Mandy Reid
CI 4000
Dr. Pam Schram
February 20, 2001
Classroom Environment and Climate
I am currently visiting the 4th and 5th grade
combination classroom with Ms. McKinney at Beech Mountain Elementary.
The first thing I noticed about the learning environment was that Ms. McKinney’s
desk was placed in the back of the room. I particularly like this
idea because it takes the students’ focus and attention off of her desk.
She is also less likely to end up sitting in her desk when she could be
walking around the room assessing and working with the students.
The students’ desks are in neat rows and all face toward the board.
This allows her to have their undivided attention when she is teaching
lecture style. Next, I found my eyes wondering to the bookshelves
lined against the wall where the windows were. These shelves are
beside of the students’ desks for easy access and availability to books.
Explicit messages are seen all over the room. On the walls are objects
made out of poster board that have words of citizenship and preferable
character traits. For example, there is a sun that has the word responsible
on it. This is to remind the students that they are to be responsible,
and that being responsible is a considerable trait to have. She has
student’s work placed around the room so that they can easily access it
to review it or look at it as a reminder. There are several implicit
messages given in Ms. McKinney’s room. The students are assigned
seats so that they are not sitting beside of their best friends.
This is to prevent excessive talking in class and to help them stay on
task. The students are also divided by grade level. The students
know exactly who is in fourth and who is in fifth. I like this method
because it adds more structure to the room. Students need structure
in their lives, and this is one way of achieving that for them. Another
implicit theme comes from Ms. McKinney herself. She never raises
her voice. She may repeat things more than once, but she has let
them know who the authority is, and they can recognize when there is misbehavior.
The one thing that I would change about Ms. McKinney’s room is the locker
situation. I know that the school is small. This is the reason
why the lockers are in the room, but students are allowed to go to and
from their lockers when they wish. This causes a lot of distraction,
and wastes a lot of time. I haven’t been able to talk to Ms. McKinney
about it directly. This may be a special new tactic for this class
that is the hardest class she has ever had to deal with. One thing
that I really like about Ms. McKinney’s class is group work. She
encourages group work, and her students learn the value of working in groups.
Their groups are divided into fourth and fifth grades, so that the groups
do not have a mixture of the two grades. Everyday Ms. McKinney has
the students do at least one activity in groups.
I have arranged a room for second grade, because
this is the grade I would like to teach when I get into the field of teaching.
First of all, my desk will be placed in the back of the room so that the
students’ attention will not be drawn to it. I want it to be as least
distracting as possible, seeing as I will only be using it for a limited
amount of time during the day.
I have created a “rug” area in the back corner where
I will place, if possible, a few beanbags and big pillows. Bookshelves
will line the walls in this particular corner so that the students will
have easy access to reading materials. This area will be used once
a day for reading aloud to my students. I feel that a huge part of
my philosophy of teaching surrounds reading aloud, because it helps students
develop fluency by hearing the musical quality of written words, and they
can imitate what they hear in their writing. Students at this age
may also develop a strong interest in reading for pleasure. The “rug”
area provides a great place for them to sit during silent reading time,
also a time that will occur in my school day, everyday. They will
be able to pick a book of their choice, sit where they want to, and read
for a certain amount of time.
Because of the second grade student’s emotional/social
growth development, I have placed the desks in groups of three’s.
These groups are scattered throughout the middle of the room. They
will be facing the board, although, some may not be facing it directly.
They, at this age, may seek a sense of security in groups, clubs, and organized
play. It will be an easy and quick way for students to break into
groups and help one another along on activities and concepts.
I will have organized cubbies of supplies.
The supplies will be in plastic tubs that are labeled, and then stored
in the cubbies along the back wall. Along the empty wall beside of
the students’ desks I plan to have more bookshelves. These bookshelves
will house informational books such as Dictionaries, Thesaurus,’ Encyclopedias,
Biographies, and current magazines (National Geographic). It is important
to me in my philosophy of teaching that students feel that they can access
the same type of material that an adult would want to access. This
gives them a feeling of ownership of their research, as well as, success
in reading and using informational texts.
I will have a clock and calendar posted in
my classroom on their eyelevel. At this stage in their development,
the students are beginning to understand or are understanding time and
the days of the week. They will be able to refer to the calendar
and the clock on a daily basis to answer their questions. “What time
is it, Ms. Reid?” “I don’t know. Look at the clock.”
The student would then have the opportunity to answer his/her question.
Children at this age level also like to accomplish tasks and have those
accomplishments recognized. I would then be able to walk over to
the student and have him/her tell me what time they decided it was.
“Very good, _____!” I would say a word of encouragement.
Children at this age level are interested in rules
and rituals. The first ritual that has become my heart’s desire for
my little people is that they begin the day off well. I will have
a radio/CD player setup by the door that will be playing every morning.
I will set up a ritual of playing soft, classical, rolling, easy music
in the morning as they come in and begin their morning task. The
morning task will also be set, so that they know exactly what to do when
they come in. These rituals will give them structure in their lives
and pleasure through listening to music. At the same time, the music
will help calm and settle them for the day’s work ahead of them.
Another heart’s desire in my philosophy of teaching
is integration. Not just integration of subjects, but integration
of the fine arts. I want my students to experience many forms of
art such as, music, creative art, dance, theatre, crafting, and gardening.
These will be non-competitive, in that, each child will feel a sense of
self-accomplishment, and be content with their performance. It is
important that this age group perform well so that their self-confidence,
self-esteem, and self-worth are all built to support lifelong learning.
I do not want to inhibit them from trying new ways to learn. Success
in these areas will help them feel that they can try new things and not
be afraid of them.
How will I begin to develop and build the learning community in my
classroom? I will begin by establishing a few rules. By a few,
I mean 3 rules. These rules will include citizenship roles and character
traits that the class deems worthy to be noted. The class will elect
this Bill of Rights. We will have a vote for the rules we make.
I will inform my students of their surroundings
on the first day. I will give them 15 minutes to walk around, touch,
and feel the things in the room. This will alleviate some of the
curiosity so that they can settle down and focus. This first day
is the most important, and the students will be excited about the new surroundings.
If I let them know what is going on, and how things are going to be used,
and when they are going to use them, they will feel that they are a part
of the classroom itself. They are important because they know what
is in their classroom. They have touched it and it’s not against
the rules. This gives them some ownership of the room.
The routines of the first day will be discussed
and practiced. This may take two to three weeks, but practice makes
perfect. I will go ahead and inform them right away. There
will be no beating around the bush, because until they find out how they
are going to get to go to the bathroom, line-up, walk down the hall, and
go to and from lunch, they are not going to be happy. So, we will
take time to practice this. They will feel that it is a job that
they are responsible for instead of something that they can get into trouble
over.
My main idea in this whole paper is to let students
feel that they are important and are a part of the class. Without
some ownership and structure of and in their lives, they get confused,
frustrated, and disappointed. When this happens, no learning or fun
takes place. I want my classroom to be a place where students can
come and learn how to learn. They will leave with the notion that
they can learn anything, if they just know where to find it. I want
to help them find out how to find the information they are after.
I want them to be able to read, write, communicate, and live a life to
it’s fullest.